Generally, there are a variety of configurations of snowmobiles available for applications such as deep snow, high performance, luxury touring, trail riding, etc. Most snowmobiles include a frame, a motor, a pair of front skis, and an endless belt assembly. Typically, features such as engine displacement and track length vary depending upon the specific application for which the snowmobile is targeted. For example, snowmobiles designed primarily for deep snow application may include an endless belt assembly having a longer track length, i.e. 166 inches, than a snowmobile designed primarily for trail riding, i.e. 135 inches. A snowmobile designed for deep snow may also include a relatively large displacement engine, i.e. 900 cc3, to provide suitable power when operating in a mountain environment at higher elevations with less oxygen. Other features of a deep snow snowmobile may be added to improve ride and handling characteristics such as side hilling.
One illustrative embodiment of the present invention includes a snowmobile comprising a frame, a motor supported by the frame, an endless belt assembly supported by the frame, and a tunnel coupled to the frame and extending above the endless belt assembly. The tunnel includes first and second longitudinally spaced-apart ends, a heat exchanger configured to receive a coolant from the motor, and an exposed item attachment member accessible by a user and extending along a surface of the tunnel, the item attachment member being configured to couple to a fastener for mounting an item to the tunnel.
Another illustrative embodiment of the present invention includes a snowmobile comprising a frame, a motor supported by the frame, an endless belt assembly supported by the frame, and a tunnel coupled to the frame and extending above the endless belt assembly. The tunnel includes an outer periphery, first and second longitudinally spaced-apart ends, a heat exchanger configured to receive a coolant from the motor, the heat exchanger including first and second laterally spaced-apart portions, and an exposed item attachment member extending along the outer periphery of the tunnel.
Yet another illustrative embodiment of the present invention includes a snowmobile comprising a frame, a motor supported by the frame, an endless belt assembly supported by the frame, and a tunnel coupled to the frame and extending above the endless belt assembly. The tunnel includes a heat exchanger configured to receive a coolant from the motor. The tunnel defines an exposed item attachment member accessible by a user and extending along a surface of the tunnel, the item attachment member being configured to couple to a fastener for mounting an item to the tunnel.
The above mentioned and other features of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention.